'whatever it takes:' Essendon's darkest year.

this years membership slogan was ironic to say the least.

Attempting to keep up with the ongoing drug scandal surrounding the Essendon Bombers football club is an arduous task, with a new and often uncredited storey appearing in the media each day. The purpose of this blog is one to give an accurate list of events that have and will unfold in the future as well as also to give what may say is a biased but informed opinion on the matter coming from someone with interest and knowledge of the situation.


At the bottom of this page I have put a direct news storey from the Age online newspaper with a very detailed list of events in the time they have occurred. To summarise that briefly and In much less detail, in February 2013 the Essendon football club went to the A.F.L and ASSADA asking them to look into their own supplements program as they felt boundaries were being pushed. A short time later they sacked their high performance trainer Dean Robinson and sports scientist Steven Dank. James Hird was under pressure after Dank Revealed he himself was having injections. the next few months were a media frenzy with many different stories emerging perhaps the most prominent being in June when Jobe Watsons shock admission to taking the anti obesity drug AOD-9604  in question. In August Dean Robinson does a tell all paid media interview putting a huge portion of the blame on James Hird and making several startling revelations most of which Essendon and Hird Denied.  which brings us to now when the ASSADA report is complete and we are waiting to see what charges are given to the individuals and club the A.F.L have found guilty.



The remaining issue is now what the outcome of the events will be. We are now at the point that the A.F.L has read ASSAD'S report and decided to charge Essendon Football club, James Hird, Mark Thompson, doctor Bruce Reid and Danny Corcran. From the information I have personally seen and heard I feel that it s a fair decision in charging all o these parties. I am however very surprised that all players escaped all charges. Yes it is fair to say I feel some amount of empathy for the players as it was the clubs program and they were told it was all legal I feel that they need to hold some responsibility for their own actions. As professional athletes surely you would want to know exactly what is going into your body and it is quite clear in the ASSADA guidelines this is you as a players responsibility. So while yes the club and those responsible for administering the treatment need to be held very much responsible those who are being administered the treatment also must take some share of that responsibility.

This is what leads me to believe that the A.F.L in charging the Essendon football club MUST include a punishment that directly effects the players. the most logical and reasonable response I believe is loss of premiership points. Many people say this is not fair they are no longer taking the supplements it was not the players fault and fans will be understandably furious. However ask the other 17 clubs in the A.F.L how fair it was wen they were competing against a team who was in a blanket term ' cheating' try telling a side who missed the top eight only by 4 points and lost to Essendon in round one that the players should not have any punishment. Try telling the fans of teams whose team struggled to win a game all season and definitely could have used a helping edge on the competition that the team who did the wrong thing and took that edge to gain success can go through free of punishment as a result.

Quite clearly there is a little bit of feeling in the above paragraph. However this is not what you see in many places, that being an unwarranted un educated rant. As I have stated previously I do hold a lot of sympathy for the players that were involved in what we can now call a 'saga.' Yes fair enough by the A.F.L not banning every single player that participated in the program as in my understanding they had every right too. But what they do need to do is send a message to the players of not only this club but every team in the A.F.L that this kind of thing is not ok. This means that the part of the clubs punishment should definitely be loosing premiership points for at least this season. As for other ways the players should be effected that will be what the A.F.L is currently trying to decide. One thing that is sure to effect them as it will effect the entire football club is the financial aspect of the punishment.

 From day one Essendon were very animated in saying they welcome this investigation and they would except any punishment they were delivered had they breached any rules. Now six months later the investigation has been completed and one thing that is very true is that they did break the rules. yet they are certainly not taking full responsibility, they are in fact doing the opposite. The A.F.L has already lost a huge amount of integrity and respect because of the actions the Bombers have taken, by now dragging this dark moment of the A.F.L further and further they are just causing the fans and entire A.F.L community more displeasure. There are still a lot more issues that I haven't even delved into such as the fact that before season 2012 Jobe Watson had never realisticly looked like winning a brownlow medal yet that same year he won he was taking certain banned substances. Should he loose his brownlow? That is just one a probably 100 other questions the A.F.L would be considering right now.

The A.F.L has now announced a meeting to be held on Thursday with all 18 cubs in attendance. Will be intersting to see what outcomes they announce at this time.








This Exhaustive list of events was published in an article form the Herald Sun August 14, 2013, titled: Essendon Drugs Scandal: The Story So Far.

February:
-first light of the drugs saga emerges as Essendon approach AFL and ASSADA to investigate its 2012 sports science program run by Stephan Dank and Dean 'the weapon' Robertson.
-Robertson stood down indefinitely by the football club
-The ACC releases the "blackest day in Australian sport'' report on crime links and performance-enhancing drugs.
- The AFL concedes a player from a second club is also under investigation.
- Essendon appoints former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski to review "irregular practices'' at the club.

March:

- Herald Sun reveals Essendon players were urged to have up to 40 injections each last season.

April:
- Dank claims Essendon coach James Hird took drugs banned for players.
- AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou says in a radio interview that standing down is an option Hird "has to consider''.
- Hird faces ASADA-AFL investigators.
- Melbourne Football Club becomes embroiled in the crisis after text messages between Dank and club doctor Dan Bates are revealed.
- Herald Sun reports that an Essendon official told investigators the club had used the anti-obesity drug AOD-9604, under the belief it had clearance from WADA to do so.
- Essendon claims Dank had shown it a letter from WADA approving the use of AOD-9604.

May:
- Bombers threaten to call in the federal police after WADA tells the Herald Sun it never gave any permission for Dank to use AOD-9604.
- Essendon says in a statement that it has not conceded the use of banned drugs by any of its players.
- The Herald Sun reveals that Dank ordered from biochemist Shane Charter a second banned substance, Thymosin Beta 4 CJC-1295, while working at Essendon. It is not known if the drug was administered to players
- Bombers release findings from the Switkowski report, which says the use of exotic supplements, frequency of injections and marginalisation of traditional medical staff created "a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the club".
- Chairman David Evans apologises and promises "zero tolerance" to risky procedures
- Herald Sun reveals some Essendon players signed consent forms that prescribed weekly injections of banned anti-obesity drug AOD-694 last season. The Bombers say the form does not prove players took the supplement.
- Gold Coast defender Nathan Bock dragged into the scandal, with ASADA reportedly set to investigate claims he injected the prohibited drug CJC-1295 in late 2010.
- The World Anti-Doping Agency and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority declare AOD-694 off limits for athletes in any circumstances, putting a dent in planned Bombers defence that the drug is used by some pharmacists and as a food supplement.
- Essendon loses its first game of the season, to Geelong. The Bombers follow up with a surprise loss to the Brisbane Lions.
- ASADA commences interviews with Essendon players, quizzing them on up to 35 substances linked by authorities to the club and its former sports scientist Stephen Dank. A document seen by the Herald Sun listing the substances does not say what drugs were administered to which players, if at all. At least six drugs on the list are banned for use by athletes. Interviews are expected to be completed early next week.
- Ian Robson resigns as Essendon CEO, saying he is accountable for everything that happens at the club, including the supplements program even though he didn't know about it. "We let down our players and their families," Robson says. "How seriously we let them down is still a matter under investigation but I sit here today saying that our club let those people down and there is no excuse in not knowing."

June:
- Brownlow Medallist Jobe Watson rocked the football world by admitting he was administered a substance he believed to be AOD-9604. That drug has been classified as banned by WADA. He made the revelations on Fox Footy's On The Couch, declaring: "I signed that consent form. My understanding after it being given through (Essendon doctor) Bruce Reid and the club (was) that I was receiving AOD. (I believed) that it was legal at the time and that's what I was told I was being given."
- The Herald Sun reveals a phone call made from Andrew Demetriou to Essendon chairman David Evans the night before the Bombers self-reported to ASADA and the AFL. But Demetriou strongly denied he tipped the club off. The explosive story brought the saga to the front of the headlines again amid another torrid week for the Dons.
- The Bombers took to the Friday night stage days later but were blown apart by Hawthorn. After the loss an emotional Hird declared: "This is affecting so many people's lives. It has got to the point that, if it's not over very quickly, it's going to affect people's lives permanently."
- The night after the loss to the Hawks, chairman David Evans resigns. A physical breakdown led to the departure, with Evans complaining of breathlessness, having a light head and struggling with vision after the match. Evans was replaced by Paul Little.
- Dean Robinson, known as "The Weapon" sold his story to Channel 7 in another body blow to Hird's reputation. Robinson was stood down as high-performance manager when the Dons self-reported, and his tell-all interview called for Hird to stand down. It included claims that a "black ops" drugs program was discussed and that Hird suspected Collingwood players were pushing the boundaries and that West Coast was "definitely up to something''.

August:
- James Hird declares Essendon has the right to play finals amid growing speculation the Dons will be stripped of all premiership points. The next day Hird's side suffers a shock 53-point loss to West Coast at Etihad Stadium - its third-straight belting. AFL charges against the club are expected to be laid in the immediate days following the loss.
- After receiving a 400-page "interim report" from ASADA, AFL general counsel announces Essendon, Hird, assistant Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran and club doctor Bruce Reid have been charged with conduct likely to bring the game into disrepute or prejudice the interests of the AFL. But players will not be issued infraction noticed for anti-doping violations. Dillon notes the ASADA investigation remains open.